Building construction



J. E. HADDON 2,583,422

Jan. 22, 1952 suxminc oNs'rRucTIon Filid June 17, 1948 IN V EN TOR.

Paten tecl Jan. 22, 1952 UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE-71:1"

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Jesse E. Haddon, Elmwood Park, Ill., assignor of one-third to Theodore W. Blum and one-third 'to' Charles M. Kipp, both of Chicago, Ill.

Application June 17, 1948,'Serial No. 33,625

5 Claims. (01. 108-80) My invention relates to building constructions and includes among its objects and advantages an improvement in the mounting and functioning of gutters for receiving and disposing of water and other materials moving down and off the edge of a roof.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a fragmentary plan view of a section of gutter cover;

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-'2 of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is a section on line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a, sectional view of a complete gutter and its support;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the attachment tab as in section on line 5-5 of Figure 4; v

. Figure 6 is a partly diagrammatic showing of a section of gutter on a reduced scale;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a modification in the embossing; and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary section of an alter native fastening means.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration, in Figures 1 and 6 inclusive, the conventional gutter l0 includes a bottom [2, a vertical inner side wall l4, and an outer side wall I6 which may be irregularly shaped for ornamental purposes. The outer wall i6 terminates in a turned-in flange l8, which stifiens the structure somewhat and provides a support for the outer attachment clips. The vertical inner wall l4 terminates in an inclined continuous flange 20 which, in the finished structure, over lies the roof plank 22 and underlies the shingle, or waterproof covering 24.

'To prevent leaves. twigs and the like from accumulating in the trough, where it becomes necessary to remove them laboriously by hand, I provide a cover in the nature of a plate 26 curved down very slightly between its ends. The main expanse of the plate 26 is embossed, or swedged, to define a series of blisters or domes 28, most of which are of the full length illustrated in Figure 1, although, to secure the mostcomplete coverage, shorter domes 30 may be formed adjacent the edges of the corrugated area. Each dome 38 is struck up from the metal of the sheet 26 and simultaneously embossed into the domeshaped cross section best indicated in Figures 2 and 3. This leaves a series of drain openings 32 opening horizontally parallel to the plane of the sheet 26. The domes 30 may be identical with the domes 28 except that they are shorter. The short fiat undistorted portions of metal remaining at 34 between the ends of adjacent domes in the same row, combine with the long fiat por- 2 tions 36 between adjacent rows to define the base of the support as a, whole.

The fiat portions 86 are of substantially the same width as the domes 28 and 30, and the flat portions 34 are no wider, and the openings 32 have fairly sharp rough edges. Thus the irregu larly corrugated surface on which leaves and other debris falling off the roof come to rest in the first instance is of a shape such that the ability of such solid objects to obstruct and close the drainage openings 32 is a minimum. Excellent results in this respect have been secured with the successive rows of domes about of an inch high and A of an inch wide spaced apart about 1% of an inch from center line to center line.

A leaf or piece of newspaper or other flexible object happening .to come to rest on the cover tends to bridge the gaps between adjacent domes 28 and to be supported thereby, leaving a space below the would-be obstacle into and out of which water can drain easily. If such a leaf remains in place for some time, either with or without being rendered brittle by repeated wettings and dryings, it usually gets dislodged by a bit of gusty wind. In rare instances when the leaf stays long enough to rot, and is torn, it tends to tear in such a way as to form openings precisely at the drain openings 32.

It will be apparent that with such a gutter cover in place, a single stroke of a brush or broom will usually be effective to dislodge all material resting on top of the cover either wet or dry.

In Figures 4 and 5 I have illustrated inner and outer supporting clips for the cover 26. The outer clip 38 is a simple S-shape of which the upper bight slips over the flange I8 and the lower bight slips over the edge of the sheet 26. The end of the 8 may be continued diagonally downwardly'and outwardly as at 40 so that it can be pushed against the wall I6 for additional bracing. The inner clip of Figures 4 and 5 has an outwardly extending lower end 42, the inner half of which forms the bottom of a U-shaped bight to receive the inner edge of the sheet 26. The metal is then folded back on itself as at 44 and then extends diagonally up at 46 above the flange 20 and down again at 48 below the flange 20. The portions 46 and 48 can be provided with a plurality of barbs 50 pointing in a direction to resist withdrawal of the assembled support.

In Figure '7 I have indicated domes 29 and 3|, identical with domes 28 and 30 of Figure 1 except that they are somewhat smaller and arranged in diagonal rows. The diagonal arrangement appears to be equally effective in maintaining drainage, and facilitates removal of debris with a brush by tending to shift the debris toward one edge of the support when the brush is moved longitudinally. And where a valley in the roof concentrates a heavy volume on a small area, the diagonal domes tend to spread the splashed water out along the gutter and less of it splashes off the ground.

In Figure 8 I have indicated an inner supporting clip differing from that of Figures 4 and 5 in that the portion 54 extending up over the roof plank 22 is a simple fiat strip of metal fastened in place by lifting the weatherproof covering 24 and putting in a pair of nails 56. The nails 56 may have very large heads 58 so that they can be driven home by laying a cleat or bit of board on top of the covering 54 and hammering .on the cleat to force the parts into the position indicated in Figure 8. Because the heads are large this can be done without injuring the covering 24. A slight embossing of the lower surface oi. the covering 24 helps it lie flat and is an advantage in the finished structure. The nails 56 can also be put in by the conventional holding tools that include anvil means to receive the blow.

In Figure 6 I have diagrammatically indicated a length of gutter l6 having a down spout at -60 at the left end of the gutter, and with the left end of the gutter a little lower than the right end to speed up drainage. in such a gutter the cover may be mounted as in Figure 4 throughout or it may be mounted to lie along the dotted line indicated at 62 in Figure 6. Such an arrangement tends to cause any longitudinal acmulation of debris to occur at the right hand end where the volume of water to be disposed of is a minimum, and leave the left hand end relatively bare. Such a cover not only helps the water moving expeditiously to its proper destination, but it prevents blocking of the down spouts by balls or sticks. It also disposes of twigs, and the like, in such a way that the sediment accumulating in cisterns is materially reduced, and clogging by accumulations of debris 'in sewers and catch basins substantially diminished.

Others may readily adapt the invention for use under various conditions of service by employing one or more of the novel features disclosed, or equivalents thereof. As at present advised, I desire to claim the following subject matter:

1. 'A cover for gutters; said cover including a relatively plane base and a series of domes struck up from said base; each dome being defined in plan view by parallel sides longer than the dist'ance between said sides; each dome curving downward at both ends to an integral end union with said base; each dome having sharp side edges curving up above the plane of said base to define a substantially horizontal sharp edged opening between the arched dome edge and corresponding edge of said base.

2. A cover according to claim 1 in which at least the middle portion of each dome is also arched transversely of its length, whereby the drain opening is positioned in a plane inclined slightly toward the dome.

3. A cover for gutters; said cover including a relatively plane base and a series of spaced domes integral with said base and rising above the level of said base; certain of said domes having side openings topermit drainage through said cover; said openings extending down to the level of said base.

4. A cover for gutters; said cover including a relatively plane base and a series of spaced domes integral with said base and rising above the level of said base; certain of said domes having side openings to permit drainage through said cover; said openings extending down to the level of said base; whereby decaying leaves and similar obstructions, lying across the tops of a plurality of domes, tend to rupture in the spans between said domes and open drain'passages through said obstructions in approximate registry with the side openings in said domes.

5. A cover sheet for gutters; said cover'sheet including a relatively plane base and a regular series of domes; said domes being about inches high and spaced apart about inches andoi a width such as to leave flat spaces between adja-' cent domes about as wide as said domes; each dome remaining integral with said sheet at its ends and being severed along its sides to define drain openings.

JESSE E.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 474,442 Byers May 10. 1892 956,372 'Kreutzberg Apr. 26, 1910 960,835 Daniels June 7, 1910 2,175,138 Westlake Oct. ,3, 1939 2,271,081 Layton Jan. 27, 1942' 2,288,121 Cisar June 30, 1942 2 ,365,845 Schweda Dec. 26. 1944 

